


The Way It Began

by lovelivesinthedream



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: AU, F/F, Fluff, Hale Family Feels, M/M, Magic!Stiles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-19
Updated: 2013-11-19
Packaged: 2018-01-02 01:41:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,226
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1051054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lovelivesinthedream/pseuds/lovelivesinthedream
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Derek was socially awkward, and Stiles was a smart-ass unable to express himself. Luckily, there was Cora and Erica.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Way It Began

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Ionaonie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ionaonie/gifts).



"What the fu-"

"You'd better not finish that word," Laura interrupted him with a harsh elbow to his ribs. She looked pointedly at the children gathered on the grass only a few feet away. "There are little ears here, Derek. Impressionable minds."

"As if a swearing could possibly damage them worse than this awful party will. What's with the clown?"

His sister sighed heavily and slammed the paper plates onto the outdoor table with more force than necessary. Derek tried to inconspicuously peer around her to see if she'd cracked the glass table top; it wouldn't be the first time Laura had damaged an inanimate object because she'd forgotten to control her super human strength.

She leveled a truly impressive glare at him. "Mason wanted a clown at his party. Couldn't you act less like a dementor, just this once? For your nephew's birthday?"

Cora snorted with amusement somewhere in the distance. Derek grimaced. 

Over his sister's shoulder, Derek could see Mason glancing at them with a sad frown. It made Derek's chest constrict uncomfortably. He loved his family, his pack, and would do anything for them, but the only people he was a complete pushover for were Laura's kids. Seeing Mason on the verge of tears on what should have been a very happy day -- well, it made him feel like an ass. Which, of course, had been Laura's goal all along. 

"Fine. I'm sorry." He knew he'd regret his next words, but he gritted his teeth and spoke anyway. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

Laura's grin turned positively evil as she tilted her head toward the weirdo dressed in the rainbow wig and over-sized red shoes. "He could probably use a hand."

Derek rolled his eyes heavenward, silently questioning all of his life choices as he strode over to his doom. He stood off to the side beside Cora and watched for a few minutes as the children giggled at the clown's antics. His younger sister appeared more interested in the clown’s blonde haired assistant in the lethal looking high heels than the party tricks. He filed that away for further thought at a time when he wasn't being targeted by strange people. After making a balloon animal in the shape of what was supposed to have been a monkey for one of Mason's friends, the clown clapped his hands and looked at Derek meaningfully. 

"I need a volunteer for the next part. Wanna help a guy out?"

No. Derek most emphatically did NOT want to 'help a guy out,' but he could feel Laura's eyes burning into the back of his head and decided to pick the lesser of the two evils. 

"Sure."

The clown clapped his hands again and the kids cheered as Derek walked over, hands shoved deep into his pockets and shoulders hunched under his gray henley.

"What's your name?" the guy asked, crouching down and messing around inside the bright yellow bag sitting on the ground at their feet. The move left the thin white pants of his costume pulled taunt over his ass. Which Derek hadn't noticed. At all.

"Derek," he grunted oh so eloquently. 

The clown nodded thoughtfully, thankfully ignoring Derek's obvious reluctance. He handed something to the scary looking girl who smirked at Derek in a way that rivaled even Laura. She took the object so quickly that Derek couldn't see it, but before he could get too suspicious, he was distracted by the guy with the painted white face, and whoa... how was that even an eye color?

"Well, Derek, thank you so much for volunteering!" the clown began in a voice that sounded disgustingly full of cheer and thinly veiled sarcasm. "For our first trick, I need you to hold this hat for me. As you can see, it's a perfectly ordinary baseball cap." He demonstrated by turning the hat upside down and shaking it. The black material flopped lazily, only the stiff rim holding firm in the clown's gloved grasp. Under the watchful eyes of the gathered children, Derek took the hat from the guy and stared at it. 

Despite his intense desire to be anywhere else, doing anything else, he had to admit that he was slightly curious. He held the brim in one hand and the back of the hat in the other hand so that it wouldn't flop around like a fish. The whole thing was stupid, but... Mason was happily watching along with everyone else, and there was no way Derek was going to ruin it for his nephew. 

"Now, normally this is the part where the magician pulls a rabbit out, right?" The children responded with happy cheers. "Well, that's not really my style. I mean, who wants a rabbit when you can have a puppy?" 

The clown smiled at the kids’ eager expressions. The rainbow wig on his head bounced as he turned toward Derek, reaching out one hand to hold over the hat. He winked, and for just one moment--a fraction of a second, really--Derek could have sworn that the guy's golden brown eyes had burned bright red. 

He didn't have time to question it though because in that same instant he almost dropped the hat which had suddenly become much heavier. The white face paint chipped a little around the blue mouth as the clown guy smiled brilliantly and reached into the hat. 

"Mason, the birthday boy, this little guy is for you." In the guy's large hands was a puppy. Black, gray and white with bright blue eyes and a tiny, pink tongue. A real, live, definitely not fake puppy. 

Derek dropped the hat to the ground and stared with his eyes narrowed as his nephew ecstatically began fawning over the animal. Something very strange was going on. How did this obnoxiously loud and overly bright clown make a dog appear out of a thin air? It didn't make any sense at all. 

He shifted and tried to subtly sniff the stranger. All that his enhanced sense of smell could pick up was mint mojito gum and dandruff shampoo. 

Derek was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he didn't pay attention to the blonde girl handing Mason a small object while the clown was whispering in his tiny ear and pointing toward him. He was completely caught off guard when his nephew pulled on his pant leg and asked for a hug with such a cute little smile on his face. And of course, Derek could never so no to Laura's kids (or Laura if he's being honest), and especially not if they were asking for a hug. 

"Uncle Derek, this is for you," Mason laughed innocently as he handed Derek a flower made out of multi-colored pipe cleaners and paper. He thought it was weird, but it was something from his adorable little nephew, so Derek accepted it with a gentle smile. 

"You're supposed to get presents today, not give them to me, pup," he replied while affectionately ruffling Mason's hair. 

“It’s not from me. It’s from Stiles!” Mason grinned brightly, and before Derek could ask who Stiles was the flower squirted a stream of water directly into his face. 

He spluttered indignantly, barely catching the curse words on the tip of his tongue. Cora and Laura were doubled over with laughter while Mason patted his new puppy happily. The distinct sound of a warm chuckle had Derek turning his head, water still dripping down his face, just in time to see the clown wink at him before disappearing at the gate to the backyard. 

Derek knew he hated clowns for a reason.

 

*****

 

“Come on, Derek! You love swimming,” Cora whined. 

Just the fact that she was practically begging him to go with her was enough to have him on the defensive. Cora never begged for anything, especially not from him. She’d learned Laura’s manipulative ways early on in life and had subjected Derek to her torture since she’d begun talking at eighteen months. If she wanted something from him, she knew exactly how to get it without even asking. So for her to plead with him like she was… well, that couldn't mean anything good for him.

He pushed his sunglasses up and frowned. “What’s the catch?”  


“There’s no catch!” Her heartbeat ticked when she spoke, but he would've been able to tell she was lying even without his wolf senses. She was tapping her fingers against her thigh which she only ever did when she was nervous. He let her continue though, wondering exactly where this was going and if she’d slip up and accidentally spill the real reason behind her request. “God, can’t a girl just want to spend quality time with her brother at the local pool?” 

“There are too many people there.” 

Old ladies in too small bathing suits that stared at him like he was a piece of meat. Underage teens that stank of raging hormones and angst. Screaming kids with sticky hands and messy faces that peed in the pool. 

He shivered at the horror. 

Cora must have decided that her approach wasn't going to work. She crossed her arms over her chest and looked him straight in the eye. The serious set of her jaw and hard line of her shoulders made it clear that whatever she was about to say was something that would get Derek punched if he laughed at. 

He nodded to indicate that he understood the underlying threat. 

“There’s this girl,” Cora explained with that same deadly look in her eyes. “We had plans to hangout today, but at the last minute she had to fill in for a friend at the lifeguard station at the rec. center. I might have, maybe, sort have told her that I had a brother that was certified and could take over for a couple of hours so she and I could have lunch together.”

Derek wanted to refuse flat out and enjoy the rest of his day playing in the woods near his parents’ house with Mason and Lily. Lily, at almost two years old, had just begun shifting and he liked teaching the kids how to control it. But Laura would always bring them back again next weekend and it must have taken a lot for Cora to ask him for something like that.

He sighed and pulled his sunglasses backed down. The things he did for his family. “Okay.”

 

When they arrived at the rec. center, Cora was barely repressing her excitement. He’d never seen his sister so happy, and it made having to put up with people for a few hours more than worth it. 

Or so he thought until he saw who he’d be working with.

The guy was young, probably early twenties, messy brown hair and tall with a build that was less trained athlete and more random blessing of nature. Derek was momentarily distracted by the map of moles covering the pale skin like splattered paint. His eyes followed them down the guy’s chest to the top of his dark red board shorts. He found himself wondering if the trail continued past the fabric and felt his face heat up. 

When did he become such a creep?

He heard a snort and glanced up, noticing the guy’s slightly upturned nose and unmistakable honey colored eyes. Even without the white face paint and rainbow wig, it could only be one person. Derek groaned. 

“Hey, it’s my volunteer from the party! Are you here to offer yourself as tribute?” the guy wiggled his eyebrows suggestively with a smirk pulling at his lips. 

Derek stared blankly in response. He hoped that the look conveyed how done he was with everything because he definitely didn't have enough words to accurately describe the feeling. How was this guy a clown and a lifeguard? How was that Derek’s luck?

Cora stepped on his foot. Hard. “Ignore him, please. All references, no matter how great, will be lost on him. He leads a very dull life.”

“Not even Hunger Games? Everyone knows that shit these days.” A girl that Derek recognized as the blonde from Mason’s birthday party shook her head in disbelief. 

The three of them turned together, carrying on the conversation as if Derek wasn't even there. 

“Why’s he so broody?”

“Nobody knows. It’s the secret we've all been trying to figure out.”

“Hmm… Maybe he’s Bruce.”

“Wayne or Banner?”

The guy slowly raked his eyes up and down Derek’s form, taking in his dark scowl and crossed arms and altogether unwelcoming demeanor. “Both.”

“Ohhhh… That totally makes sense.” Cora and the blonde nodded together like they’d just figured something out. Three pairs of eyes stared at him with pity.

Derek closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Happy thoughts, Derek. Happy thoughts. He slowly exhaled and asked, “What the hell are you guys talking about?”

“It’s okay, big guy. You’re always angry. We get it,” the guy answered in a way that wasn't an answer at all, clapping him on the back like that was something he was allowed to do. “Anyway, my name is Stiles and this lovely lady that someone managed to score a date with your fantastic sister is Erica. It’s really cool of you to cover for her!”

Erica’s eyes widened at the reminder, and she quickly checked her phone for the time. “Oh my god, we need to go now or we’re going to be late for the movie. Thanks guys! See you later!” She grabbed Cora’s hand and together they rushed back toward the parking lot.

Left on his own with Stiles, Derek could only pray the day would soon be over.

Stiles rubbed a hand over his neck and turned away, pointing with his other hand toward the bleachers behind the lifeguard seat where a small group of kids were gathering. “Um… I don’t suppose Cora explained what we have to do today?”

“Lifeguard duties. Keep people from drowning. No running on the pool deck. Stuff like that.”

“Well, yeah. Obviously those things. But,” he paused and Derek could hear Stiles’ heartbeat speed up a little. He furrowed his brows and waited for the rest, wondering what they could possibly be doing that could make a guy like him nervous. “We’re supposed to show those kids how to perform CPR.” 

That in itself wasn't something to get worked up about. There had to be more to it. “And?” 

“Scott stole the dummy that we demonstrate o--Oh my god, dude! Could you not?”

Derek paused, his shirt already most of the way off. He held back his satisfied smirk. For some reason the spike of arousal he could detect from Stiles didn't annoy him like it did with most people. Probably because he could also sense irritation, and something about his smart-ass attitude made Derek want to get to know him better. 

“I’m not doing anything.”

“Yes, you totally are! Y-you’re being all hot and shit and disrobing yourself and--and I wanted to do this the right way, but your messing it all up.” Stiles shoved Derek’s arm without any real force. “Asshole.”

Derek stared in shock with his wrists still caught in the short sleeves of his green shirt. Had he just heard what he’d thought he’d heard? What did any of that even mean? 

Stiles’ cheeks were tinted with embarrassment, but he was still smiling like there was nowhere else he’d rather be. Derek had a moment to see a mischievous quirk to the lifeguard’s pink lips and then he was distracted by the spark of brilliant red in those coffee colored eyes. 

He blinked and in his next breath his shirt was back on, fully covering him. He reached up to touch it and felt the tag and stitching. It was on inside out and backwards. 

What the actual fuck?

Instead of being worried or scared, Derek felt a strange sort of exhilaration. He’d known that there were people out there that were different. He wasn’t naïve enough to believe he had the only special family in the world, but he’d never met anyone other than werewolves before. 

Magic. Cool.

“Are you a wizard, Harry?” 

Stiles’ mouth fell open. For a whole thirty seconds there was nothing but silence, and Derek worried that he’d done something horrendous by asking, but then Stiles began laughing uncontrollably. 

There was a pleasant warmth that began to spread in his chest at the sound. Derek felt himself smiling in response.

“I knew that there was no way you didn't understand all those references! I knew it!”

“Are you going to teach us or what?” a snotty looking kid interrupted. Derek wanted to growl at him to go away, but Stiles’ nodded.

“Sure thing. Go wait over there for one more minute while we get ready.” He gently pushed the boy back toward the bleachers and then faced Derek with a sparkle of amusement still radiating off him. “So, I was trying to tell you earlier that Scott stole the practice dummy, and I’ll need to demonstrate the proper technique on you. Is that okay?”

Derek could think of many techniques they could demonstrate on each other but supposed they weren't exactly appropriate. And he thought back to what Stiles' had said and decided that he might want to do this the proper way too. 

He tried not to appear too eager when he answered, “Yeah, sure.”

Stiles’ fist pumped like a dork. Derek rolled his eyes. Of course, he’d be interested in a goofball. Of course.

He grabbed Stiles’ wrist right before he stepped away. “Wait. Why did that Scott person take the dummy?”

“Uh… hahaha! Actually,” he gulped and Derek could feel his heartbeat thumping chaotically where his fingers touched, “Cora and Erica started talking after your nephew’s birthday party, and Erica mentioned to Cora that I was crushing on you since like freshmen year of high school or something because she's a traitorous traitor that betrays. And I tried to talk them out of it but they were all, ‘You see, but you do not observe,’ and being the evil geniuses that they are, they made Scott call off work today and put the dummy in his trunk, so you’d fill in and I’d confess after giving you mouth-to-mouth. Funny, right?”

He smelled terrified suddenly. He probably thought Derek was about to reject him, and honestly, after hearing that everything was planned Derek did think it was kind of weird. But he knew Cora and how forceful she could be when she got an idea into her head, and he really was beginning to like Stiles. If he hadn't been forced into going to the pool and helping out, there was a high probability that he wouldn't have ever given Stiles a chance, so he couldn't be too mad at his meddling sister or her new girlfriend. 

Derek slid his hand down so his fingers were intertwined with Stiles’ instead of grasping his wrist. He squeezed once and felt Stiles relax, happiness once again pouring off of him like sunshine. 

“Cora and Erica are going to be even worse now.” 

“They were difficult on their own; together they’ll be impossible.”

He ran his thumb over the back of Stiles’ hand and smiled to himself. “No, together they’ll be happy. And I think we could be too.”

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first fic I've ever written for Teen Wolf or Sterek, and I'd just like to apologize to the prompter if this is completely different than you wanted. I hope that you like it, but if you don't I am very sorry.


End file.
